"There is often more possible than you might think"
Source: HD.com
To mark the occasion, Aquasol Solar organized a Battery Build Open Afternoon (known in Dutch as a BBK) at the grower's site in the Westland growing region. Around 70 attendees received a presentation from specialists involved in the project, similar to a previous open afternoon held at grower Roots .
The event also included informal networking over drinks and a barbecue. The central theme of the afternoon, as framed by Willem Verwoerd of Aquasol Solar, was the challenge of delivering a complex project within tight spatial constraints, effectively working in the customer's own space with limited room to manoeuvre.
"We enjoy being involved in Energy Management, with generation and storage systems," said Verwoerd. There is often more possible than you might think." The installation at Bryte comprises one large energy storage system and three relatively smaller units, with a combined capacity of 11 MWh.
Why this matters: For operators, this is a water-management story. The useful signal is that direct substrate measurements can help cut drain loss materially without giving up yield or fruit quality, which is exactly the kind of controllable efficiency gain a facility can build on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does substrate sensing matter in free-drain strawberry systems?
Because drain percentage tells a grower what already happened, while substrate moisture and EC data show root-zone conditions directly. That makes it easier to cut water loss without guessing.
What is the operator takeaway from this trial?
If the thresholds are understood well enough, growers can reduce drain water materially while protecting yield and fruit quality, which makes sensing an operational tool instead of a reporting tool.
